New Delhi: Acknowledging that several states were badly hit by drought, the central government on Wednesday said that interlinking rivers was the only solution to the problem.

"Interlinking of rivers is very important. We are working on it as this would solve the problem," Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti told the Rajya Sabha.

She was replying to a discussion on the drought situation.

The minister said there was a huge problem of drinking water and the government was aware of it.

"We are working on several water projects and we will achieve the target soon," he said, assuring the MPs that the problem would be taken care of.

Uma Bharti also said that water-related issues should be turned into a public movement.

Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said a huge sum of money was being given to the affected states to deal with the water crisis.

Opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad urged the government to declare drought as a national disaster. He said the opposition would support the government on the issue.